One of the few remnant salt marshes in the San Francisco Bay, this marsh serves as a nursery for crab and fish species, provides critical habitat for endangered plants and birds, and helps protect coastlines from flooding. When the marshland was slated for development in the 1970s, Elsie Roemer advocated for the thousands of birds that fed and nested here, especially the endangered California Clapper Rail. For decades, she conducted bird surveys along the Alameda and Oakland shorelines, and her careful records, organizing skills, and diplomacy helped inspire the preservation of local marshland. In 1979, the East Bay Regional Park District named the bird sanctuary after her in honor of her lifelong dedication to saving wildlife and wetlands in Alameda.
